OK, I'm not drinking the cool aid here. I've seen the recent offseasons and I know how it goes with this team, especially the last few years.

Having said that, there really do seem to be good things going on with the Saints.

Deuce got signed. There are those who will say he is overpaid, but he's no Albert Connell. He's a good guy who wants to be on the field and makes for a great poster boy for the team. Glad to see he'll be around for a while.

I thought we might let McKenzie get away. He may not be a true "shut down" corner. But, I would say he's a legit number one and a solid top ten guy in the NFC. Our ability to get picks went up exponentially when he got involved. This team needs picks to help over come the offensive sputterings that I would imagine will still happen. The Saints used to use a formula of picks and sacks when successful. I think McKenzie is part of that.

I like Fakhir....I think we are way better (and deeper) on the corners than we were last year. Having decent corners helps disguise the weaknesses that we expect at LB. It also frees up Safeties to help in the run game and to ball hawk (a skill that we want to see Smith use).

I think O line is better. More depth, no Riley, and a stud 1st rounder that will hopefully mature quickly. The Mayberry pickup looks good.

Depth at WR. (At least it looks like it.) There is SOOOO much speed in this group. I know, we've said it before. But for a team that has bolstered its line for a power running attack to have this much speed on the edges is rare. Will AB get them the ball and will they catch it on 3rd and 7? That remains to be seen.

Depth in the back field. Smith adds another bruiser and Stecker is a nice change of pace. I like it :)

Depth in the secondary. Bellamy is old but makes tackles. Smith looks like a good pickup. Mel Mitchell is a solid backup and Bullocks (a pick I didn't get) seems to be stepping up. Throw in the fact that Fred will hopefully have a better year (a good guy who may be done). Craft has started and I like his game as our 3rd or 4th option. Smith's verstility also helps here.

I also really like the scaled down offense. Is it just talk? possibly, but it's the right idea.

These are some of the reasons I think we can win. I know that every team is ready for positivity right now and I try to stay away from blind optimism.

Reasons for negativity:

Will the lack of a solid DT make our run D a problem?
Will our youth/mediocrity at LB kill us?
Will AB put together 12 all around good performances? (I've said before that we won the 4 not because of him, but in spite of him. He was especially bad in the Dallas and Tampa game.) I'm no hater, but I'm at the end of my rope with this guy.
Injuries?
Will the o line come together as a unit?
The X factor? We've all seen 'em play 2 bad qtrs and 2 good ones under Haz. They don't play 2 all around good games a season. Every win is a nail biter. Can Haz put a mentally strong, smart football team on the field for 16 games? We know there will be bad games and you need to win a couple of them to go anywhere. How will the ball bounce for the Saints? It bounced right for the Panthers 2 years ago and it bounced right for the Falcons last year. (The Bucs were just flat out good the year they won the South.)
Who will catch the tipped balls? Who will give up the big play on special teams? Will Carney miss 38 yard field goals in the 4th? These things alone will be the difference between 7-9 and 10-6. I think most would agree that the Saints will finish the season with a record in that range. Here's to 10-6.

BeeoBee

08-01-2005 03:40 PM

RE: WARNING: POSITIVE THREAD

pretty good take on the team this year..i like to be positive too unlike alot of guys on here..but the bucs and how they were "just flat out good when they won the south" i think there was a certian team that chalked up TWO of their losses that year;)

saintswhodi

08-01-2005 03:44 PM

Isn't cool aid spelled Kool-Aid? :wink:

Just messing with you yas.

saintz08

08-01-2005 04:08 PM

Quote:

WARNING: POSITIVE THREAD

I love the joke of the day posts .

Front office seems to be putting some distance between them and the coaching staff for sure .

All comes down to Hasbeen at the Helm with Venturi ( the man who just coached the so called last place defense )steering the defense and Mike Sheppard in his first year ( previous offensive coordinator for Ryan Leaf ) trying a new approach to the offense .

I am excited to say the least ....... :twisted:

yasoon

08-01-2005 04:27 PM

Quote:

Isn't cool aid spelled Kool-Aid?

Yeah....I noticed that, too. All I could think about was the guy with the big red pitcher for a head. Where is that guy these days?

Quote:

i think there was a certian team that chalked up TWO of their losses that year;)

We beat alot of good teams that year. I think there were 6-7 wins against eventual playoff teams. The problem was losing to the Bengals,Panthers,Lions, Bowns. To me, that was probably the most frustrating year ever. That loss to Carolina the last week was awful AND it let the Falcons in.

LordOfEntropy

08-01-2005 07:29 PM

The Bengals game did it to me that year.

Memnoch_TP

08-02-2005 11:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yasoon

Quote:

Isn't cool aid spelled Kool-Aid?

Yeah....I noticed that, too. All I could think about was the guy with the big red pitcher for a head. Where is that guy these days?

No, no, no... He had a big red pitcher for his body with no head at all. Sadly, Kool-Aid man is in a hospital for disabled mascots. His repeated collisions with brick walls, and the multiple concussions that they gave him, left him little more than a vegetable. Then, to make matters worse, the feeding tube that was inserted into him was mistaken for a straw by the Jolly Green Giant and what was left of his precious bodily fluids were drained. He is now a pot for a palm tree outside of the Joe Camel Children's wing of the Count Chocula Memorial Hospital.

Tobias-Reiper

08-02-2005 02:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Memnoch_TP

..... the feeding tube that was inserted into him was mistaken for a straw by the Jolly Green Giant and what was left of his precious bodily fluids were drained.... .

...pervert...

BlackandBlue

08-02-2005 02:42 PM

Better steer this discussion back to football before the thread police come and start bashing heads. :shock:

WhoDat

08-03-2005 09:23 AM

Quote:

No, no, no... He had a big red pitcher for his body with no head at all. Sadly, Kool-Aid man is in a hospital for disabled mascots. His repeated collisions with brick walls, and the multiple concussions that they gave him, left him little more than a vegetable. Then, to make matters worse, the feeding tube that was inserted into him was mistaken for a straw by the Jolly Green Giant and what was left of his precious bodily fluids were drained. He is now a pot for a palm tree outside of the Joe Camel Children's wing of the Count Chocula Memorial Hospital.